Different paths, same result

Hard work and believing the system can get them where they wanted to go.

Different paths, but the same story for both the 3A St. Maries Lumberjacks and the 1A Division II Kootenai Warriors.

Regardless of how they got there, both will open their respective state tournaments today in the Treasure Valley at Meridian and Caldwell.

3A: St. Maries (12-8) opens the 3A tournament against Snake River (18-4) today at Meridian High at 2 p.m.

The Lumberjacks qualified with a 41-39 win over Bonners Ferry in the 3A District 1-2 tournament's second-place game.

St. Maries won the consolation championship game last year over Filer 60-52, but only two starters return in junior Zach Lehman and senior Tanner Sampson.

Lehman leads the Lumberjacks in scoring with 16 points per game, along with nine rebounds per game and Sampson averages six points per game and three steals - add to that senior Seth Patzer averaging a double-double in the Lumberjacks' previous four games.

"We've had some ups and downs this season," St. Maries coach Jeff Mercer said. "The last part of the season, we've started to execute our offense."

Junior Jake Mercer averages eight assists per game as the team's point guard.

"We've been able to utilize the time we've had on the floor," Jeff Mercer said. "We're starting to work the ball around and keep it moving. My philosophy is slow and steady wins the race - and it's proved itself."

Snake River enters the tournament after defeating Marsh Valley 51-48 in the District Five championship game. They're no stranger to the state tournament, having made it to the Treasure Valley in each of the last four seasons.

Priest River (19-3) will face Homedale (13-10) in its opening game as the No. 1 seed from District 1-2.

Priest River lost to Sugar-Salem in the third-place game last year, but returns most of the key players from that squad. Senior Jake Weimer averages 17 points and 10 rebounds a game, with Max Salesky at 14 points and Eric Holbrook averaging 13 points per game for the Spartans.

This is Homedale's first state appearance at the 3A level, with their last title coming in 1969 as a 2A school.

Shelley (14-8) is the defending state champion and will face Filer (17-4) at 5:15 p.m. at Meridian High. Freshman McKay Cannon is averaging 10.9 points per game since being moved to varsity, where the Russets are 11-4 since the move.

Shelley is 2-6 against 4A opponents, where the team will move next season.

1A Division II: Kootenai (12-9) makes its first state tournament appearance since 2004, the first trip under coach Andrew Whipple.

"We were very fortunate this year," Whipple said. "We knew we had a good chance to make it to state this year by our league getting a bid."

Last year, teams from District 1 had to enter into a tournament with other teams from District 2 to determine two berths to state, which were won by Nezperce and Summit Academy.

"Our kids worked hard to get here," Whipple said of the team's state berth. "They've earned it throughout the season. We had played well against both Mullan and Clark Fork during the regular season and knew all we had to do was play Warrior basketball - and we could take care of business."

Junior Jake Zarpentine leads the Warriors in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game and 12 rebounds, followed by Dillon Zarpentine with 11 points per game. Senior point guard Taylor Dodson is averaging eight points and six assists per game and Greg Wallace averages seven points a game.

"We're really excited to get down there," Whipple said. "We've got a lot of guys that can score the ball. Taylor (Dodson) does a good job of running our offense. Greg (Wallace) has stepped up this season. He's grown a lot and has became another weapon off the bench."

Kootenai opens the tournament against Dietrich (18-8) today at 12:15 p.m. at Caldwell High.

Dietrich lost to Murtaugh 67-45 in the District Four semifinals and had to defeat Meadows Valley 56-43 in a play-in game to reach the tournament in its sixth playoff game. It is its first trip to the state tournament since the divisional split, last appearing in 2008.

Mackay (18-2) is the defending 1A Division II champion and will face Carey (21-2) at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Both of Mackay's losses were to North Gem, which will face Nezperce in their tournament opener at 5:15.

Senior Kole Krosch averages 26.5 points per game and has accepted a full-ride scholarship to play safety/linebacker for Idaho State in 2010.